The transporting of a container from place to place is typically performed by lifting the container with a bail member attached to the container. The bail member is a rigid piece of wire and operates as a handle. While the wire is capable of carrying the weight, the wire is typically made of a small diameter which can make transporting the container most difficult if the container has any weight. In many instances the bail member is attached to a container that is disposable.
By way of example, a bail member for a paint can is used only for as long as the paint within the can is viable. Once the paint is consumed, the empty paint can and associated bail wire is disposed of. For this reason, the bail wire is disposable and designed of a thin diameter wire suitable for the temporary use. The thin bail wire can literally cut into the hand of an individual lifting a container filled with paint or any other material. Some container manufacturers include a thin walled plastic sleeve positioned over a portion of the bail member to help distribute the weight when the can is lifted.
Another example is the conventional five-gallon container which is used to carry most anything. This may be temporary in manner, such as a container filled with oil, or a more general use, such as carrying soapy water to wash a boat. When filled with water, a 5-gallon container can weigh 40 pounds. Similar to a paint can, a thin wire bail member is attached to the container for use in transporting. In such an instance, the lifting of the container by hand places a tremendous pressure on the fingers. Again, it is common to place a small plastic sleeve over the bail member to help distribute the load. The sleeve helps, but a wider handle grip would further benefit the individual.
The need to help distribute the weight imposed upon the bail member is well known. Even if a plastic sleeve is present, if the hand of the individual moving the container is not hardened, the wire bail member can leave a mark, or even cause an injury to the muscles and tendons involved. This is especially problematic when the individual's hand is softened from working with water. In such instances, it is not uncommon for the individual to wear gloves or resort to some other means of distributing the weight across the individual's fingers.
Various attempts have been made to attach handles to the bail member so as to help distribute the weight. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,409 discloses a handle cover for fitting over a wire bail handle affixed to a container. The handle cover is designed to fit over the wire bail, whether or not a hollow tubular sleeve through which the wire bail passes is present, and can interact with this sleeve when present. The handle cover is formed from two body members, at least one of which has a channel formed therein for receiving the wire bail. This channel has two end portions and a central portion. The central portion is wider than the end portions in order to receive a hollow tubular sleeve if present on the bail.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,805,813, discloses a grip for use with a bail coupled to a container and including an elongate tubular body for extending along a portion of the bail. The body has first and second opposite end portions and a central portion. The central portion can be grasped by a human hand and has a diameter of at least one inch. The first and second end portions have respective first and second engagement surfaces for contacting the bail in spaced-apart positions. The bail extends free of the body between the first and second engagement surfaces.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,174,605 and 7,305,738 disclose a handle that can be attached to wire-like members. The handle generally includes a handle portion, a retaining member, and a key member. The handle portion has a channel and an aperture extending from at least one outer surface of the handle portion into the channel. The channel is configured to receive at least a portion of a wire-like member therein. The retaining member is configured to be received within the channel. The retaining member has an aperture. The key member is configured to be engaged within the handle portion's aperture and the retaining member's aperture. Engagement of the key member within the retaining member's aperture can inhibit the egress of the retaining member from the channel to operatively trap at least a portion of a wire-like member within the channel, and thereby attach the handle portion to the wire-like member.
U.S. Publication No. 2004/0093694 discloses a removable handle for cookware having an upper and a lower portion, a casing being dimensioned to at least partially receive a handle of an item of cookware and resiliently deformable zones located in the casing so that when the zones are urged together, they grip the handle of the item of cookware. The upper and lower portions of the casing are hingedly connected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,955 discloses a handle grip and handle grip assembly for shopping baskets. A pair of identical handle grips are fabricated of molded plastic, each comprising a unitary body component and cover component connected by a hinge component. A handle element is seated in each body component and the corresponding cover component closes over the handle element and is locked to the body component. The cover components of the grips engage each other when the basket is carried and the weight of the basket increases the engagement force.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 384,279 discloses an ornamental design for a carrier handle. U.S. Design Pat. No. 372,865 discloses an ornamental design for a bag handle. U.S. Design Pat. No. 337,053 discloses an ornamental design for a shopping bag handle grip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,702 discloses an auxiliary handle for use with containers such as bags, pails or cans having handle portions included therewith. The handle has a longitudinally arcuate base portion and a pair of side walls converging upwardly from opposite sides of the base portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,640 discloses a handle for lifting a plastic bag that includes one or more plastic loops adapted for allowing the bag to be carried in a person's hand. The handle comprises an elongated member having a recess extending along one side and dimensioned to receive the plastic loops.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,433 discloses a paint bucket handle accessory that includes a generally elongate grip or handle member for grasping in the hand by a user, with the gripper handle member including a groove extending generally the length of the member along the top side thereof. The groove is dimensioned to receive the wire loop handle of a conventional paint bucket. The accessory also includes a hook member extending outwardly and generally perpendicularly from an opposite side of the gripper handle member to terminate in a hook element. The hook element is dimensioned for hooking under the inwardly and downwardly projecting lip formed in the upper edge of a conventional paint bucket.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,654,115 discloses a handle which may be made in two parts and snapped over a carrying bail of a basket, pail, or like portable container.
What is lacking in the art is a handle manufactured from two members that, when interlocked, form a base capable of supporting a bail member without attachment to the bail member, wherein the handle can be secured to the bail member by use of a cover installed without tools.